BLOGS of pro basketball players overseas
Behind the backboard: the truth about life overseas

There are currently 6778 ex-college players, who play 2017-18 season overseas*the number is for both men and women players, who play outside of the U.S. (updated on 3/15/2018) Check Detailed list by College or by country

The consortium made up of the Philippines, Indonesia, and Japan has won the right to host the 2023 FIBA World Cup and this early, there is a growing sense of anticipation among basketball-crazy Filipino fans that Gilas will be able to form a formidable team that will be highly competitive in its own homecourt.

Some names have been floated as possible members of Gilas 2023 especially with the marching order coming from Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas (SBP) Chairman Emeritus Manuel V. Pangilinan to already start the formation of the Gilas pool. Current Gilas mainstays who are projected to be the leaders of the national team when the country hosts the World Cup include Terrence Romeo and Roger Pogoy who will both be 31 in 2023, US NCAA Division I product Matthew Wright of St. Bonaventure University who will be 32, and Kiefer Ravena who will only be 30. There are also local collegiate stars CJ Perez, Thirdy Ravena, Robert Bolick, and Ricci Rivero plus US NCAA players 6'7 forward Kobe Paras from Cal State Northridge, 6'5 combo guard Dwight Ramos of Cal State Fullerton, and 5'11 Remy Martin of Arizona State University who are prime candidates to be part of the Gilas pool. There are hopes that Jordan Clarkson of the Los Angeles Lakers will finally be able to suit up for Gilas. National teams from the Philippines have always been bannered by outstanding guards like Jimmy Alapag, LA Tenorio, Jeff Chan, Gabe Norwood, and Jason Castro, so it is no surprise that the initial names mentioned for the World Cup are guards and wingmen.

But what really has gotten Gilas fans excited is the possibility that in 2023, the national team will finally have the bigs who can complement the traditionally quick and prolific Filipino backcourt. Gilas veterans 6'10 4-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo will be 33 and versatile 6'7 forward Troy Rosario will be 31, while prospective naturalized player, 7'1 Isaiah Austin, will be 30. These 3 will serve as the anchor of the Gills frontline in 2023. Gilas will also have a deep pool of young bigs to tap for the national pool. There are former Batang Gilas 6'8 Isaac Go of Ateneo and 6'8 Kenmark Carino of San Beda, 6'9 Matthew Aquino of National University, and 6'5 workhorse Santi Santillan of DLSU. Then there are the next generation of Filipino bigs, 7'1 15 year old Ateneo Blue Eaglet Kai Sotto who is projected to grow as tall as 7'5, 6'10 17 year old AJ Edu who is dominating the hoop scene in the UK, 6'10 16 year old Ethan Kirkness, 6'6 18 year old NCAA Juniors MVP Will Gozum of Mapua, 6'7 15 year old Raven Cortez of De La Salle-Zobel, and 6'7 Carl Tamayo who is widely recognized as the best high school forward in the country.

Giles teams in the past have always been undersized and have had to compensate for their lack of height by putting a premium on speed, versatility, and outside shooting. But if the Gilas team can maintain its athleticism while shoring up its frontline, then the Philippines will not only be a competent host but may also be capable of pulling off some surprises in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

SEABA champions Batang Gilas will face the penultimate test as they represent the Philippines and the Southeast Asian region in the FIBA Asia Under-16 which will be held from April 2-8 in Dongguan, China. The level of competition has significantly gone up in the FIBA Asia given the entry of Australia and New Zealand. The Philippines has always been a legitimate contender in the region, but their lack of size and height has hampered their quest to advance in previous stagings of the youth...[read more]

SEABA champions Batang Gilas will face the penultimate test as they represent the Philippines and the Southeast Asian region in the FIBA Asia Under-16 which will be held from April 2-8 in Dongguan, China. The level of competition has significantly gone up in the FIBA Asia given the entry of Australia and New Zealand. The Philippines has always been a legitimate contender in the region, but their lack of size and height has hampered their quest to advance in previous stagings of the youth competition.This is one aspect that may have been considered in the formation of this latest iteration of the Batang Gilas. The national team coaching staff led by Head Coach Mike Oliver has put together the tallest ever national youth team in the history of Philippine basketball. The team is led by the highly touted 7'1 Kai Sotto, The 16-man pool from which 12 players will be named to the final line-up is composed of the following players:

After PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial announced the lifting of the one-player-per-team limit for the Gilas pool, fans naturally became excited at the prospect of seeing other PBA stars join the national pool. Although Coach Chot Reyes has announced there will be no new players added for the second qualifying window which is less than 3 weeks away, he said they will look into expanding the pool for the succeeding qualifiers. The question now is who are the players who deserve a national...[read more]

After PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial announced the lifting of the one-player-per-team limit for the Gilas pool, fans naturally became excited at the prospect of seeing other PBA stars join the national pool. Although Coach Chot Reyes has announced there will be no new players added for the second qualifying window which is less than 3 weeks away, he said they will look into expanding the pool for the succeeding qualifiers.

The question now is who are the players who deserve a national team call-up. But before that, we have two things to consider.

First, Coach Chot is preparing Gilas not only for the 2019 FIBA World Cup and the 2020 Olympics, but also for the 2023 FIBA Manila World Cup. From the current pool, only Gabe Norwood, Andray Blatche, and Jayson Castro would be too old for 2023. The three would probably be on their last national team tour of duty in 2020 if Gilas makes the Olympics. (Norwood would be 35. Blatche and Castro would be 34). It would be impractical to add players who will not be able to serve the national team beyond 2020. Second, players who do not meet the FIBA citizenship requirement obviously cannot be considered, so this rules out Fil-foreigners Chris Ross, Stanley Pringle, Christian Standhardinger, Chris Banchero, Chris Newsome, and Mo Tautuaa, unless they are tapped as naturalized players.

From the current roster of PBA players, the following should be in contention for spots in the Gilas pool:

Greg Slaughter- Slaughter played in the SEABA Championships in 2011 right before FIBA decided to put in place the Hagop rule on citizenship so he is FIBA eligible. Filipino fans have salivated at the idea of a Gilas frontline featuring Slaughter, June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, and Blatche. This could finally happen as early as the 3rd window of the FIBA qualifiers this June. Gregzilla will still be serviceable by 2023 when he will be 35 years old.

2) Marcio Lassiter- Lassiter will be 36 in 2023, but he is too good to pass up on in the next 3 years. Imagine Castro or Blatche attacking the lane and they have Lassiter and Matthew Wright spotting up for kick out passes. Lassiter can provide consistent outside shooting which Gilas oftentimes seems to be lacking. He is also a top notch perimeter defender who can be called upon to shadow the likes of Makoto Heijima.

3) Paul Lee- Who can forget the 2014 FIBA Asia Cup when Lee sank 3 free throws with no time left to help Gilas clinch the bronze over China? Lee needs to be back in a Gilas uniform. Coach Chot has always been known to employ multiple point guards in his lineups, even having 4 in the 2014 FIBA World Cup. So it's possible we will see Lee, Castro, Terrence Romeo, and Kiefer Ravena playing together. That will be fun to watch and a dizzying nightmare for opposing teams.

4) Poy Erram- Blackwater may be going through a slump, but the 6'8 Erram has been playing well enough to merit consideration for the Gilas pool. He is averaging 12 rebounds a game (number 2 behind Fajardo) and a league leading 3.4 blocks a game, further proof that this former Blue Eagle is one of the top young big men in the country today. A mobile big man like Erram with a decent touch from outside and a nose for defense is someone Coach Chot will surely consider.

5) Ian Sangalang- The 6'7 Sangalang was in the Gilas radar as early as 2015, but heath issues hindered him from joining the national pool. The 26 year old Kapampangan has finally regained both his form and confidence based on his averages of 14.25 points and 7.63 rebounds in the All-Filipino conference. Gilas will need more bigs when they advance to the latter rounds of the qualifier, and Sangalang will definitely be a welcome addition to the Gilas frontline.

6) Scottie Thompson- Thompson plays big for his size. He also is arguably the best all-around guard in the PBA today. Just look at his stats: 10.71 points, 9.7 rebounds, 6.29 assists. That's almost 10 rebounds a game for someone who with shoes on will probably measure just 6'2. He and Calvin Abueva can from a lethal combination of wingmen who will be all over the court and who could hurt opponents in different ways.

7) Baser Amer- Amer used to be known as the quintessential point guard during his collegiate days. Pass first. Make teammates look good. Execute the offense. He still does that now. He averages a PBA-best 7.0 assists per game. But this Davao native has also become a potent offensive threat. He averages 11.57 points a game. He is also making 48.5% of his three point attempts, the highest in the PBA this conference. There's nothing flashy about Amer, but he gets the job done.

8) Jeron Teng- Some fans say Teng's game is not fit for international competition. But he has shown in last year's FIBA Asia Champion's Cup that he can score in bunches against bigger defenders. He exploded for 18 points against Sareyyet Ramallah of Palestine and 17 points against Mono Vampire of Thailand. Teng averages 13.13 points and 4.38 rebounds this conference. At 23 years old and with his work ethic, Teng will get better and can still improve his outside shooting.

Gilas Aims To Be A Contender in the 2023 FIBA World Cup- Dec.25, 2017 (by Ariel Ian)

The consortium made up of the Philippines, Indonesia, and Japan has won the right to host the 2023 FIBA World Cup and this early, there is a growing sense of anticipation among basketball-crazy Filipino fans that Gilas will be able to form a formidable team that will be highly competitive in its own homecourt.
Some names have been floated as possible members of Gilas 2023 especially with the marching order coming from Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas (SBP) Chairman Emeritus Manuel V[read more]

The consortium made up of the Philippines, Indonesia, and Japan has won the right to host the 2023 FIBA World Cup and this early, there is a growing sense of anticipation among basketball-crazy Filipino fans that Gilas will be able to form a formidable team that will be highly competitive in its own homecourt.

Some names have been floated as possible members of Gilas 2023 especially with the marching order coming from Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas (SBP) Chairman Emeritus Manuel V. Pangilinan to already start the formation of the Gilas pool. Current Gilas mainstays who are projected to be the leaders of the national team when the country hosts the World Cup include Terrence Romeo and Roger Pogoy who will both be 31 in 2023, US NCAA Division I product Matthew Wright of St. Bonaventure University who will be 32, and Kiefer Ravena who will only be 30. There are also local collegiate stars CJ Perez, Thirdy Ravena, Robert Bolick, and Ricci Rivero plus US NCAA players 6'7 forward Kobe Paras from Cal State Northridge, 6'5 combo guard Dwight Ramos of Cal State Fullerton, and 5'11 Remy Martin of Arizona State University who are prime candidates to be part of the Gilas pool. There are hopes that Jordan Clarkson of the Los Angeles Lakers will finally be able to suit up for Gilas. National teams from the Philippines have always been bannered by outstanding guards like Jimmy Alapag, LA Tenorio, Jeff Chan, Gabe Norwood, and Jason Castro, so it is no surprise that the initial names mentioned for the World Cup are guards and wingmen.

But what really has gotten Gilas fans excited is the possibility that in 2023, the national team will finally have the bigs who can complement the traditionally quick and prolific Filipino backcourt. Gilas veterans 6'10 4-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo will be 33 and versatile 6'7 forward Troy Rosario will be 31, while prospective naturalized player, 7'1 Isaiah Austin, will be 30. These 3 will serve as the anchor of the Gills frontline in 2023. Gilas will also have a deep pool of young bigs to tap for the national pool. There are former Batang Gilas 6'8 Isaac Go of Ateneo and 6'8 Kenmark Carino of San Beda, 6'9 Matthew Aquino of National University, and 6'5 workhorse Santi Santillan of DLSU. Then there are the next generation of Filipino bigs, 7'1 15 year old Ateneo Blue Eaglet Kai Sotto who is projected to grow as tall as 7'5, 6'10 17 year old AJ Edu who is dominating the hoop scene in the UK, 6'10 16 year old Ethan Kirkness, 6'6 18 year old NCAA Juniors MVP Will Gozum of Mapua, 6'7 15 year old Raven Cortez of De La Salle-Zobel, and 6'7 Carl Tamayo who is widely recognized as the best high school forward in the country.

Giles teams in the past have always been undersized and have had to compensate for their lack of height by putting a premium on speed, versatility, and outside shooting. But if the Gilas team can maintain its athleticism while shoring up its frontline, then the Philippines will not only be a competent host but may also be capable of pulling off some surprises in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

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